H.E. HEM Vanndy, Cambodia’s Minister of Industry, Science, Technology & Innovation (MISTI), on June 11, 2024 received a delegation from the Indonesian Embassy led by Ambassador H.E. Dr. Santo Darmosumarto. The meeting focused on potential collaborations in science, technology, innovation (STI), and support for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

 

Minister Vanndy lauded the longstanding bilateral cooperation between Cambodia and Indonesia and commended Indonesia's participation in the 20th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science, Technology, and Innovation (AMMSTI-20) held in Siem Reap last week, led by Chairman of the National Research and Innovation Agency.  

 

Ambassador Darmosumarto, who has been in Cambodia for nine months, expressed his intention to formally introduce himself to MISTI and work toward enhancing the relationship between the two countries. He outlined four main objectives for his tenure: enhancing bilateral cooperation, fostering people-to-people connections with a focus on youth and STI, promoting regional cooperation through ASEAN, and ensuring the protection of Indonesians working in Cambodia.

 

Praising Cambodia’s hosting of AMMSTI-20, the Ambassador noted the potential for further collaboration. He proposed signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) focusing on digital transformation and technology support for MSME development, vocational education for industry, and laboratory cooperation to ensure products meet market standards in both countries.

 

Minister Vanndy expressed readiness to sign the MOU. He emphasized the vital contribution of MSMEs to Cambodia's economy, highlighting the government’s launch of the National Strategy for Developing the Informal Economy to assist MSMEs in their formalization, enabling them to access essential benefits like social protections and opportunities for capacity development. Cambodia has around 750,000 MSMEs compared to Indonesia's 65 million, presenting a learning opportunity from Indonesia’s extensive experience.

 

In the field of STI, Minister Vanndy highlighted Cambodia's aspiration to leapfrog in technological advancements, citing that Cambodia and Indonesia are co-creators of the ASEAN Technology Transfer Hub, so there is room to collaborate in this area.  He said MISTI is also transforming its National Laboratory of Science, Technology, and Innovation into a public administration institution to better support the private sector.

 

Emphasizing the importance of enhancing lab capacities in line with the 2025 ASEAN harmonized standards, Minister Vanndy proposed the establishment of a laboratory alliance between Cambodian and Indonesian labs. This initiative aims to facilitate mutual recognition of testing and lab results across ASEAN countries.

 

Responding to Indonesian interest in Cambodia’s startup ecosystem, Minister Vanndy, who also chairs Khmer Enterprise’s Board of Trustees, mentioned the government's efforts to develop the SME ecosystem and startups through initiatives like Khmer Enterprise, Decho Startup Center and other funding mechanisms.

 

Highlighting Indonesia as Cambodia’s sixth-largest trading partner, with trade volumes exceeding USD 1 billion in 2023, Minister Vanndy encouraged Indonesian investors to consider investing and establish factories in Cambodia.